Today’s guest columnist is Jennifer Andress.
If you’d like to be a guest columnist, please click here.
I’m writing on behalf of a group of elected officials from disparate Jefferson County cities that are doing what many people might have thought impossible. Continue reading JeffCo city councilors do the unexpected
Today’s guest blogger is Maury Shevin.
If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.
I questioned the diversity of our suburbs when I wrote, “Why we escaped the Mountain Brook bubble.”
But, two recent events have given me pause for reflection. Continue reading Author of ‘Why we escaped the Mtn. Brook bubble’ has second thoughts
I’m not sure I appreciated it at the time, but it was a big deal.
The year was 2010 and the event was the opening of Railroad Park.
You would expect William Bell, the mayor of Birmingham, to be one of the speakers, but next to him was Tony Petelos, the then mayor of Hoover. Mayor Petelos spoke enthusiastically about the new park and the future of our Birmingham-Hoover metropolitan area. Continue reading Hoover leadership showing courage and vision
ComebackTown is published by David Sher for a more prosperous Birmingham.
Today’s guest blogger is Jennifer Andress. If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.
If you have lived in the Birmingham area for any length of time, you know its greatest limitation: 35 municipalities in Jefferson County alone.
That’s 35 separate governments, duplicating services to its citizens and operating for each’s own well-being. Continue reading Councilors from Mtn. Brook, Hoover, Vestavia, B’ham, Bessemer and Homewood take action
It really didn’t hit me until my family went to the beach last year.
We arrived in Destin– immediately driving to a nearby Publix on Highway 98 to buy our groceries. Continue reading An ingenious way for Alabamians to earn extra money
ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a more prosperous metro Birmingham.
Today’s guest blogger is Bruce Ely. If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.
Alabama cities and counties depend heavily on revenues from sales taxes.
Unlike other states, sales taxes are the largest single source of tax revenue for Alabama municipalities and many counties. Continue reading Alabama worst in the U.S. for sales tax red tape
Homewood is hot!
Homewood has great schools, beautiful neighborhoods and friendly people. It’s convenient to just about everything and has a booming downtown. It seems like a new restaurant opens there every month. Continue reading Time for a tough talk with Homewood
Let me make this clear.
I’m talking about metropolitan Birmingham—not just the city of Birmingham. Yes, all seven counties including Shelby County.
Things are looking up—but not when we are measured against other regions. Continue reading 3 very bad numbers for greater Birmingham
What’s going on in America?
Everyone seems to be divided.
Republican/ Democrat
White/Black
Conservative/Liberal
Rich/Poor
No one seems to want to cooperate to achieve common goals. Continue reading Pinch me! Is this really Birmingham?
ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a more prosperous Birmingham.
Today’s guest blogger is Hoover City Councilor John Lyda. If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.
Editor’s note: This piece was originally published on October 23rd. Three days later the proposal to move UAB Medical West to Hoover fell through and the hospital administration decided to build in McCalla on property it previously purchased.
The conversation of regional cooperation has been commonplace in the Birmingham metro area for decades, its roots traced back to the beginning of the urban sprawl that flourished in the 50’s, 60’s, and continuously since then.
Regrettably, the phrase “regional cooperation” has most often been rhetoric used in political campaigns, master planning processes, and feel good speeches. Continue reading Hoover can be a bold leader or greedy neighbor